After hitting her, Zhen'er regretted it; she shouldn't have taken her anger out on someone else.
Xiao Anzi kept his eyes tightly closed. Just when he thought he was about to hear news of his head rolling, he heard Zhen'er say, "Get up, everyone. Next time, two or three dishes will suffice. Don't be so extravagant."
Everyone thought they had misheard. They looked at each other, and hesitated to get up.
Finally, Zhen'er continued, "If you don't get up, then keep kneeling. I won't force you."
Only then did I believe it was true, and dare to get up.
"Leave two dishes, and give the rest to the palace servants as rewards," Zhen'er said magnanimously, waving her hands.
Everyone was taken aback at first, then realized what was happening and thanked them profusely as they removed all 106 dishes.
The huge dining table was left with only two dishes, looking quite lonely. To make it look less shabby, Zhen'er instructed Xiao Anzi to replace the large table and chairs with smaller ones.
"This looks much more comfortable," Zhen'er said with a smile.
Although the food got cold after all that fuss, Zhen'er didn't mind too much because of the hot weather, and it was quickly devoured.
The palace maids and eunuchs were surprised by her sudden change, but none of them dared to ask.
After Zhen'er had a quick bath and changed, she suddenly realized that it wouldn't be enough for her to save those 108 dishes on her own; there was someone in the palace who was even more extravagant.
Without a second thought, she had Xiao Anzi take her to Cixi's palace.
Chuxiu Palace
As soon as Zhen'er reached the door, she heard the sound of a board hitting someone. She looked over and saw a young man in a chef's uniform, who was gritting his teeth and stubbornly enduring the beating.
"Smack..."
Another blow came down with the board, and Zhen'er seemed to hear the sound of bones breaking. She frowned and quickly said, "Stop!"
Upon hearing this, the eunuchs immediately stopped what they were doing. They turned to look at Zhen'er, their eyes filled with doubt.
Since this was Cixi's territory, Zhen'er couldn't be too obvious. She looked at her with disdain and asked, "What are you doing?"
The eunuch bowed first, then respectfully replied, "Reporting to the Eastern Empress Dowager, this Hong Qing is a new chef from the Imperial Kitchen. Because the roast duck he made was too hard, it chipped the Western Empress Dowager's teeth, so he was punished with several strokes of the cane."
Upon hearing that this was the reason, Zhen'er was furious. To think that someone would be beaten to death over just one dish, she wished she could strangle the despicable woman inside immediately.
But she held back. After all, Empress Dowager Cixi was not so easy to deal with. If she acted rashly, it might backfire and cause trouble for herself.
She chuckled awkwardly and said, "I see. It turns out his cooking skills are lacking."
"Hmm..." The eunuch nodded and raised the board again, intending to bring it down.
"No!" Zhen'er stopped her again.
She knew that if the fighting continued, Hong Qing would die.
"Your Majesty, this..." The eunuch looked at her, not knowing what to do. He was afraid of Zhen'er, but he was even more afraid of Empress Dowager Cixi!
"Today is the first day of the month, and the Buddha said that one should not kill. Since I saw him, I will let him go," Zhen'er said casually, making up an excuse.
The eunuch hesitated, his narrow eyes turning towards the room.
Zhen'er understood what he was afraid of, so she said, "I will speak to my sister myself, and it will certainly not involve you."
Hearing her say that, the eunuch calmed down and said, "Hong Qing is really lucky. He's the first person to escape from here."
After saying this, the eunuch put down the board and helped Hong Qing up.
Hong Qing was in so much pain that he could barely stand, but he still insisted on kneeling down and saying, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for saving my life."
Seeing that his skeleton hadn't fallen apart yet, Zhen'er finally breathed a sigh of relief, but she still said coldly, "Consider yourself lucky that today is the first day of the month. If it were any other day, you wouldn't be so lucky."
Regardless, Hong Qing survived. He was extremely grateful to Zhen'er and quickly knelt down and kowtowed again, saying, "Thank you, Venerable Master Dong. Hong Qing will remember this forever."
Zhen'er waved her hand and said, "You should leave now. Once you've recovered from your injuries, you can study your cooking skills carefully to see what's wrong with them. Otherwise, I won't be able to save you next time."
"Yes..." Filled with gratitude for Zhen'er, Hong Qing limped away.
Seeing that he had already gone far away, Zhen'er took a step and walked into the palace.
As soon as I entered, I saw a woman gracefully swallowing the last bite of her food. She had a typical oval face, eyes that were neither too big nor too small, a straight nose, and full red lips. She was dressed in plain clothes, with a pearl hairpin in her hair, and exuded a faint fragrance of orchids. Every move she made was full of charm.
She looks the same as in historical photographs, only younger now. She's plain-looking, not particularly beautiful, yet this seemingly ordinary woman controlled the late Qing Dynasty—she was Empress Dowager Cixi.
Upon seeing Zhen'er arrive, Empress Dowager Cixi gently wiped her lips, then rose and bowed, saying, "Sister, what brings you here?"
Zhen'er returned the greeting, "I missed you, so I came over. Don't you welcome me?"
"Not at all, it's my blessing that you came to see me, sister."
As she spoke, Empress Dowager Cixi walked to the table, took Zhen'er's hand, and said with a smile.
But beneath that smiling face lies a cold and vicious heart.
With Zhen'er around, Empress Dowager Cixi was always overshadowed.
Zhen'er sat down beside Cixi as she pleased, and just as she was about to speak, Cixi spoke first: "Sister, is lunch ready?"
“It’s all used up.” Zhen’er smiled slightly and said, “By the way, I saw a royal chef being punished outside the door just now, so I took the liberty of letting him go.”
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Cixi's face immediately darkened, and she said with displeasure, "How can you say such a thing, sister? If you want to spare his life, just tell me directly. Are you afraid I won't give you that favor?"
Zhen'er smiled faintly and shook her head, "I was afraid that if I came over and told you, and then delayed things, the imperial chef would die."
"Is that so?" Empress Dowager Cixi said sarcastically, "I never knew my elder sister had become so kind." She then let out another sneer.
Zhen'er ignored her sarcasm and replied nonchalantly, "I'm doing this for my own good."
"Oh!" Empress Dowager Cixi raised her eyebrows. "So that's why she did it for herself."
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